This disclosure relates generally to complex technical designs or solutions that are often present in transactions such as strategic outsourcing and information technology engagements, and more specifically to providing a visual responsibility matrix that clearly communicates the scope of a technical design or solution for fulfilling a complex technical engagement.
Parties to a complex technical engagement such as a strategic outsourcing engagement or an information technology engagement often have difficulty communicating the scope of the engagement. For example, a customer that has engaged a vendor to perform a technical engagement may not be able to clearly convey to a potential vendor what products and services they are looking for. In a request for a proposal scenario, it is very difficult for a vendor to propose a technical solution if the customer cannot describe what products and services are needed. As a result, a customer will often have to go through several requests for quotes and solution cycles before they can adequately define what products and services are needed to be provided by a vendor. In addition to the problems described for the customer, a vendor may also have trouble describing the demarcation points between the components that are in the scope of the engagement, the services that are to be performed for the components, the party responsible for carrying out the services and the costs associated with each of these services. As a result, the vendor and customer will often have to go through several interactions before there is an understanding between the parties with respect to the scope of the technical solution that is subject to the engagement. Each of the problems that the customer and vendor has with respect to communicating the scope of the technical design or solution for the engagement results in a time consuming, confusing, and expensive process to determine exactly what services the client wishes to purchase from the vendor and at what price.